Return to sender
by pobrediabla
Summary: It's simple: Draco wants Hermione, Hermione doesn't want Draco. Or does she? Somehow a muggle postman comes into the picture. Very short chapters,perfect for coffee breaks. Confusion, HGDM, muggle bureaucracy. Now COMPLETE. Please R&R.
1. Ch1 Being a postman is no easy life

**Summary**: It's the old story: Draco wants Hermione, Hermione doesn't want Draco. Or does she? And somehow a muggle postman comes into the picture.

Perfect for coffee breaks. Enjoy!

There will be updates daily or every other day, depending on the reviews :)

The first two chapters are up.

**Disclaimer**: Harry Potter is not mine, all publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of JKR. The title and some references are also not mine, they are from Return to sender by Elvis Presley.

My beta was **_Julianna Edwards_**, who did a wonderful job, thank you!

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><p>Chapter 1: Being a postman is no easy life<p>

_Post office, 22th June_

One of the Royal Mail's colleagues, a certain Matthew Morris, was very pissed off.

He sorted and sent thousands of letters per week, and he was very proud of his good record.

For some days now, however, there had been a letter which frustrated him to his wit's end. It was not the letter itself, but the address and the sender who just couldn't accept that this address did _not_ exist.

For the fourth time he grabbed the postmark and pressed it on the letter: _Return to sender_. Then he took a pen and marked the box "No such number and/or zone" with an "x".

He sighed and prayed that, whoever this persistent sender was, he or she would finally understand that there was no sense in making his life harder or his clean record black.

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><p>Don't hold back your feelings, review. :)<p> 


	2. Ch2 Meanwhile

Chapter 2: Meanwhile…

_Malfoy Manor, 22th June_

The platinum blonde man was writing feverishly. Next to him was a large pile of letters, all of them crumpled.

'Dearest,' – "No, not good enough."

'Love of my…' – "No, too much."

'To my only one,' – "Too corny."

'Adorable H…' – "No, she hated when I said that."

"Okay, I'll be straight." He sighed, and brought out a new sheet of paper.

'Granger!' – No, maybe not _this_ straight.

'Hermione,

This is no time to play ice queen,

I want you and you want me.

Meet me.

Draco'

"That's it. Brief, but to the point." He stuck the stamps (maybe a bit too many) on the envelope, and leaned back with a satisfied smile.

"It has to work."

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><p>So, what do you think?<p> 


	3. Ch3 Just because

A/N: In this chapter things start to unfold slowly, but we still don't know what's going on exactly.

Beta appreciation goes to the amazing _**Julianna Edwards**_.

Chapter 3: Just because

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><p><em><strong>Grimmauld Place 12, 23th June<strong>_

"Hermione! Hermione!" Harry shouted down from the stairs.

"Yes, Harry?" The bushy-haired Gryffindor blinked up from her book.

"Why can't Ginny owl us? She floo-ed just a minute ago and said Pig had come back with her letter."

"There's an Anti-Owl Charm on the house," Hermione said in the most natural voice.

"An Anti-Owl Charm? Who put it up?" Harry puckered his eyebrows.

"Me, obviously."

"Why?"

"Just because."

"Hermione, take it off. The Prophet's been missing for four days. I've almost written them a very nasty complaint letter."

"Harry, no owl will leave or come into this house," Hermione said decisively.

Harry gave her an odd look, but then shrugged and decided to ask the "why" later, when Hermione was not in such a snappy mood.

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><p>Please, <strong>review<strong> and tell me your opinion about the story so far. Thank you :)


	4. Ch4 Not again

Sooo, you're still not very active, but I hope this will change:D:D (meaning: r-e-v-i-e-w please:))

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><p>Chapter 4: Not again<p>

_**Post office, 24th June**_

"Matt! Matt!"

"Yes? Tell me it's not _that_ letter again!" groaned Mr. Morris.

"It is, sir. The postman tried to deliver it but, of course, failed again," His colleague reported.

Morris angrily pressed the stamp on the envelope again: '_Return to sender_.' Note: No such number and/or zone.

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><p>AN: Since it's an extremely short chapter, I'll put up chapter 5 as well.


	5. Ch5 What was the word? Pride?

Thank you _**Comix**_, for your kind words!

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><p>Chapter 5: What was the word? Pride?<p>

_**Malfoy Manor, 25th June**_

Draco had never been excited for the post, (except for the time he was on the cover of _ProphetPortrait_) but it was different, since it was only the fifth time a muggle postman had ever come to their manor.

"Hello –um– John? Do you have a letter for me? " he asked casually, trying to cover his excitement.

"Yes sir, just the usual one."

He gave him the letter, on which a big red stamp was an eyesore.

Draco sighed.

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><p>Ah people, don't make me beg for your reviews …:)<p>

Next time there'll be a bit of a girl talk between Hermione and Ginny.


	6. Ch6 Girl talk? No way! Part 1

Ok, the previous two chapters were really short, so I decided to put this up.

Enjoy!

Many thanks to my lovely beta, _**Julianna Edwards.**_

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><p>Chapter 6: Girl talk? No way! Part 1<p>

_**Grimmauld Place 12, 25th June**_

"Long time, no see!" Ginny greeted Hermione with a hug.

"Well, it's up to you when you come and go. Harry's upstairs," Hermione replied.

"Oh, he can wait. We haven't chatted a good for a long time."

"Tea?" Hermione asked, smiling.

"Rather something stronger."

Hermione came back with two butterbeers and they arranged themselves cosily.

"So Hermione," Ginny started, "why can't I send an owl to my beloved fiancée?"

Hermione put her goblet down on the table.

"Harry sent you, am I right?"

"Come on Hermione, what's this all about?"

"None of your business, and you know it," snapped Hermione.

"Do you have a stalker? Maybe an admirer?" Ginny teased her.

Hermione gaped.

"How do you know?"

"Well obviously, despite any other belief, I have a brain. I put two and two together. So who is it?"

"I won't tell you, so don't start asking me." Hermione tried to look very determined.

"Is it Draco Malfoy?"

Hermione swallowed her butterbeer the wrong way and coughed.

"And how on earth do you know _that?_" She looked gapingly at her red-head friend.

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><p>A tiny cliffhanger, so hit that little blue sign down there :))<p> 


	7. Ch7 Girl talk? No way! Part 2

Thanks for your review _**FebruaryAquarian**_, here comes the "why" :)

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><p>Chapter 7: Girl talk? No way! Part 2<p>

_**Grimmauld Place 12, 25th June**_

"And how on earth do you know _that?_" She looked gapingly at her red-head friend.

"Well, you two seemed to have a sort of… _understanding_ at the Graduation Party." Ginny said with a little smirk.

"I was drunk!" protested Hermione. "And he was too! Or so I thought."

"So?"

"There's no 'so'. Story ends. He has no right to flood me with letters; it was only a little kiss." Hermione waved her hand angrily.

"Rather a long snog, or it seemed so from where I stood." Ginny laughed, and Hermione blushed deeply.

"Was it really that bad?" she asked whispering.

"Of course not. You seemed to enjoy it very much," Ginny smirked evilly.

Hermione wanted to sink into the floor at that moment in her shame.

"But what I don't understand is why can't you meet him? He obviously fancies you, and I suspect that you do too, even if you don't admit it. Well?" Ginny looked at her urgently.

"Because…" Hermione was looking for the right words "he's a Slytherin!"

Ginny raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not sure who, but a certain very good friend of mine always talks about the oh-so-great 'House Unity.'"

Hermione did so as she'd skipped the statement, and stood up to refill their goblets.

Ginny called after her, "You're aware of the fact that any of us can remove the Anti-Owl spell?"

Hermione turned back and grinned.

"I highly doubt it. It's a very special spell – made by me."

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><p>I'd love to hear your opinion about the story.<p> 


	8. Ch8 Another letter

_**I the ur story**_ reviewer: thanks for your opinion. As you can read it in the summary, this story has very short chapters. The term for this kind of fiction is "ficlet" or "vignette". I hope you'll have the patience to stick with the story and see what happens later:)

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><p>Chapter 8: Another letter<p>

_**Post office, 26th June**_

Matthew Morris sat on a chair, his head in his hands. On his table was a note, with a big fine stamp which suggested it came from a "higher" place.

It said:

_To Mr. M. Morris, 4__th__ floor, Distributive Department_

_Mr. Morris,_

_Be present at 4 pm sharp at the Director's office._

_Regards,_

_Harvey Crump_

_Chief Executor of RM_

That was no place for him, normally. It didn't sound very inviting.


	9. Ch9 A bit of muggle bureaucracy

I guess the muggle parts are not always _that_ interesting, so I put up again more chapters. I hope you'll like them.

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><p>Chapter 9: A bit of muggle bureaucracy<p>

_**Post office, 26th June, afternoon, 4 pm (sharp)**_

Mr. Morris was squirming in his most elegant suit in front of three people, apparently his bosses.

It got worse, however, as the man in the middle (what man, lion! dragon!) was the head of the whole postal office.

"Mr. Morris," called him one of them. "I think you know why we required you to be here."

"Yes, sir, _that_ letter," he said nervously, his hands sweating.

"Explanation?"

"Sir . . ."

"Mr. Morris. Royal Mail is a well operating office. We cannot allow having the slightest mistake. Do something about that ridiculous letter."

"Yes sir, I understand sir, consider it done, sir."

"We expect it," said the one who sat on the right.

The middle "VIP" didn't even bother to look up at Mr. Morris. Morris left the office hurriedly, thinking that he got off cheaply.


	10. Ch10 Too early

A huge thanks to my beta, _**Julianna Edwards**_.

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><p>Chapter 10: Too early<p>

_**Malfoy Manor, 27th June, 9 am –too early in Draco's opinion**_

Draco was tossing and turning in his bed when he was woken by the loud bang of the door-bell. Half-asleep, he heard George, his servant, go out to see who it was. After ten minutes, George stepped into his room and coughed tactfully.

"What do you want?" Draco asked angrily, half of his face still in his pillow.

"Sorry, sir, to bother you so early, but a man from the post is looking for you."

At these words Draco's eyes swung open.

"And he said it's very important." By the time he finished his sentence, Draco was on his feet.

"Tell him I'll be there in a minute."

George went out, and Draco put on some muggle clothes and got into his bunny slippers. He went out into the sitting-room, where the man had already sat down.

Draco impatiently asked, "Hermione sent you? Give me her letter!"

The man looked at him strangely and said, "Good morning to you, sir, my name is Matthew Morris. I've come from the Royal Mail. Yes, about your letter . . . " he paused, and tried to put up his most official tone.

"We kindly ask you not to send any more letters to Grimmauld Place 12 because there's no such address. We're very sorry for this, but we can't accomplish your request. If you find out the real address, we're more than happy to deliver it. Until then, we ask you to deliver it yourself."

Suddenly Draco slapped his head. How stupid he was! Of course the muggle post can't deliver it because it's invisible to muggles!

"Ah, thank you – Mr. Morris. I think I'll take your advice," Draco said, and even shook hands with him before George took him out. As soon as the man was out of the room, Draco rushed to his room, and started to write yet another letter.

'_Dear Hermione,_'

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><p>What do you think? Love it? Hate it? Tell me:)<p> 


	11. Ch11 Baaang

Chapter 11: Baaang

_**Grimmauld Place 12, 29th June, afternoon**_

The sun was shining through the French windows of Grimmauld Place, and Hermione was happily reading her expanded-version _Hogwarts: A History._

"A perfect afternoon," she thought, and turned a page in the book.

"Baaang" the doorbell rang, and Hermione dumped the book fretfully. She went to the door and opened it.


	12. Ch12 Return to sender

Chapter 12: Return to sender

_**Grimmauld Place 12, 29th June, afternoon**_

She went to the door and opened it.

There he stood, Draco Malfoy in the flesh, but he was in strange muggle clothes.

'_A..postman_?'Hermione blinked.

Draco said, "A letter for Miss Hermione Granger, 4th door, 2nd floor, Grimmauld Place 12."

Hermione slowly reached out for the letter, then she took out a pen from her pocket, and wrote something on it. After that she gave it back to Draco, and slammed the door in his face.

Draco looked at the letter:

_Return to sender!_

_No such number, no such zone!_

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><p>It's not the end yet:)<p>

Please leave a review.


	13. Ch13 Ginny helps

Hey, a long chapter :) More or less…:)

Thank you _**LadyBookworm80 **_and **_ Loups_Blancs_Executer _**for your brief but to the point reviews:) (LBE: sorry, but for some reason fanfictionnet didn't like your name with dots and kept deleting it.)

Thanks to my wonderful beta, _**Julianna Edwards**_!

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><p>Chapter 13: Ginny helps<p>

_**Ginny's Place, 1st July, evening**_

The doorbell rang, and Harry opened the door.

"Malfoy?"

"Potter? Hello Potter. I want to talk to the Weas- Ginny."

Harry stepped aside and let Draco in. Ginny came out and greeted him in a surprised tone, "Malfoy?"

"Yeah, hello to you too. I came here to talk to you, but apparently your little boyfriend.."

"fiancée," Harry cut in

"…thinks I want to eat you alive."

"It's about Hermione, isn't it?" Ginny asked.

"Hermione? What about Hermione?" asked a shocked Harry.

"Harry, surely you remember that party.." Ginny started.

"When Malfoy threw himself at Hermione?" Harry finished the sentence for her.

"She was in it, too!" Draco said angrily.

"All right, no need to be angry," Ginny placated him.

"So _Ginny_. Why doesn't she want to talk to me?" Draco asked her.

"You see, Hermione is a little shy. I think she's simply scared of a proper relationship -"

"Didn't seem scared at that party," Harry muttered under his breath.

"- as I was saying, maybe she's scared that it could really work. And, of course it doesn't help that it's you."

"What's wrong with me? I'm sexy, I'm smart-" Ginny interrupted Draco.

"Yes, yes we know, you see this is the point. She probably feels this is too good to be true."

"Draco's face was blank at this, but then Harry's was too."

"Too good? Is she mad?" Draco enquired.

"Since you asked, I'm pretty sure she's mad. About you."

"Then," Draco ground his throat, "would you deliver this letter and make sure Hermione reads it?"

"Of course."

"Thank you."

"Malfoy."

"Potter." They nodded at each other, and Draco left.

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><p>Don't hold back your feelings about the chapterstory!:)


	14. Ch14 Of flying letters

Thank you _**austenreader74**_, I'm glad you liked it:) _**CheshireCat23**_ , thanks for your review. It's usually Hermione who suffers, so it's only fair if sometimes it's Draco :))

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><p>Chapter 14: Of flying letters<p>

_**Grimmauld Place 12, 2nd July**_

She was screaming. To be precise, she was screaming and running. A bunch of letters were chasing her and she didn't have her wand with her, or she would have hexed them into next Tuesday.

"Harry! Harry!" She shouted in between two gasps.

Harry was sitting on the sofa in the living-room, reading the Quidditch news with a cup of coffee.

"Hermione, believe me, Ginny told me these exact words: Tell Hermione to read the letter. Or else."

Hermione damned Ginny (and the Weasley twins with their products) in her mind a thousand times, but finally gave it up.

She faced the letters and grabbed the first one. She slumped down to the nearest chair, and with that, the chasing letters fell down to the floor. She opened it with a sigh.

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><p>I'm still curious what you think of the story. :)<p> 


	15. Ch15 Later

Just a short update, there're only a few chapters left.

It's less than two weeks till the last Harry Potter film. Isn't it sad? It's definitely the end of an era. Although I like the books better, the films have their moments as well.

Anyway, on with the story:

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><p>Chapter 15: Later<p>

_**Grimmauld Place 12, 2nd July, approx. 10 minutes later**_

There was silence in the house, which was quite comforting for Harry's ears after having suffered through Hermione's half-hour long screaming.

He closed his newspaper, stretched his legs, and then went up to Hermione's bedroom. He knocked, but there was no answer.

"Hermione?" He slowly opened the door, but there was no one inside.

"Aha," thought Harry, and he apparated to Ginny.


	16. Ch16 Finally!

Thank you, _**CottonDolly**_ for your reviews:) In secret Draco is a bunny slipper person:D

Huge thanks to my beta, _**Julianna Edwards**_.

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><p>Chapter 16: Finally!<p>

_**Malfoy Manor, 4th July, tea time**_

Draco was sipping his tea in peace when, for the umpteenth time, the doorbell rang.

'I'll seriously take off that damned bell,' he thought as George was marching towards the garden gate.

"This way, Miss Granger," said George halfway through the door.

Draco jumped at this, successfully pouring the tea all over him. George let Hermione in, and went out. Hermione stopped halfway.

"Granger," Malfoy stated.

"Malfoy."

They stared at each other silently.

"So.._Hermione,_" started Malfoy, "did you get my letter?" He asked, as though it had been an average letter in an average conversation, and not the 25th or a part of a chasing letter-herd.

"Yes, eventually yes," She said, then added, "though it was a bit late. You can't trust today's mail system."

Draco smiled.

"What brings you here?" 'How could I ask such a stupid question? Draco berated himself.

"Gryffindor courage, I suppose." She replied.

"Ah, the famous Gryffindor courage. I'd like to have that now," he said looking into her eyes.

"Why? I thought your ego-"

"- has helped me through everything? Well, mostly," he smirked, "but now, I'd like to . . . only if . . ."

"Do it."

Draco's eyes opened wide. Had he just heard that or had his mind gone completely insane from this girl?

He slowly approached her and then stopped before her.

He touched her arm.

She slightly trembled.

They looked into each other's eyes.

And then, Draco kissed her.

_Meanwhile at Ginny's Place:_ "Finally!" Ginny said, as Harry reported to her about the events.

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><p>Finally! It's really almost the end. Almost. :)<p>

Please leave a review.


	17. Ch17 Here I come, holiday

Chapter 17: Here I come, holiday

_**Post office, 6th July**_

"Sir, there's a strange letter here," said a colleague of Matthew Morris.

He groaned, '_Not again! Just say no.'_

"What's the problem?" He asked, trying to sound calm.

"Well, the sender and the receiver are almost the same."

"Let me see it."

Written on the envelope was:

_Sender: D.M. left side, big bedroom, Malfoy Mansion_

_To: (still) Miss Hermione Granger right side, big bedroom, Malfoy Mansion_

"Derek, just because the addresses are the same… that's not a problem, just deliver it. It's not our business if someone sends themselves a letter. "

"But we can't, sir."

"Can't? What?"

"We can't deliver it. There's no such number; there's not even such a zone."

"But I was there just last week! It's that same lunatic!"

"Sir, there's no house."

It was too much for Matthew, who just wanted a boring job with a fairly good salary.

"I quit!" He shouted, and packed his things.

'_Yes, a little holiday will be the solution. Ibiza or maybe Tenerife…'_


	18. Darling,haven't you forgotten something?

First, I'd like to thank _**Julianna Edwards, **_who betad this story so amazingly.

Secondly, thank you **all** who reviewed this story, it means a lot to me.

Thirdly, thank **you** for reading this story.

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><p>Chapter 18: Darling, haven't you forgotten something?<p>

_**Malfoy Manor, big bedroom, 6th July**_

"Draco, dear."

"Yes, Hermione?"

"Did you put on the Muggle Alert System again last week?"

"Why, yes," he paused.

"Oh no!"

**THE END**

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><p><strong>I would love to read your opinions about the whole story. Constructive criticism is welcome as well:) Have a great summer.<strong>


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